David Cameron needs to move fast on immigration

My Telegraph column today looks at immigration, the other pressing issue facing the Coalition. Damian Green was due to make an announcement this morning but that has been put off following the Cumbria massacre. He has been working full-tilt behind the scenes to get the policy of a cap on numbers ready to go, although the discussion about the total has not yet taken place. Here's an extract:

"Though the Labour contest has ages to run, there are plenty involved, especially the frontrunner, David Miliband, who have spotted an opportunity to outflank the Coalition from the Right. Scrapping ID cards and DNA testing, he argues, plays well with the chattering classes, but badly with ordinary voters, who believe only criminals and illegal immigrants have anything to fear from such intrusive measures."Mr Cameron has to produce an answer, and fast. The focus during his first weeks has been on the improbability of coalition-building and the imperative of reducing the deficit. Events are already closing in. Downing Street navigated the implosion of David Laws with a combination of ruthlessness and calm assurance, and has emerged remarkably unscathed, if one is prepared to ignore the manifold contradictions upon which the Coalition is built.

"The Government now needs to show that it understands the imperative to stem the numbers of migrants pouring in to Britain. Without action on immigration, the necessary work of slashing welfare spending, and therefore the deficit (and eventually the debt), cannot truly be said to be under way."